<p>I’ve been accepted to both, and I am now having a hard time deciding where i would want to spend my next four years as a premed. Having lived in Texas all my life, i definitely know a lot more about Rice and understand its emphasis towards undergraduate education. I also know that Rice is right next to the largest medical center on the planet. On the other hand, i was thinking that if i go to penn and experience an entirely different culture, i would probably see more personal growth. However, i heard that Penn students are super competitive, so would that make getting a high gpa very difficult (if i decide to major in econ or biochem)?</p>
<p>So taking premed preparation/atmosphere and personal growth into consideration, which school do you guys think is better?</p>
<p>I do not know where you heard about the supercompetitive nature of Penn students, but in my experience this is far from the case. PEople get along, study in groups, etc. all the time. Penn is a great place for pre-meds. There is great advising and about 80% get into one of their top three choice. Penn offers undergrads a lot of research opportunities. Over 600 labs on campus open up to undergrads and if you don't find one you life the Center for Undergrad Research Fellowships (CURF) is very generous with money. As far as personal growth, in my experience it has been great coming here. I am from the rural midwest and philly and city life have really allowed be to experience something new and has opened my eyes. It is really a great place. Last year at this time, Rice was also one of the schools I was looking at. Rice is also a great place. Nonetheless, I decided to come to Penn and I have never regretted it.</p>